Reaction Post #1

I came into this course with only a vague interest in questions of American identity and values, but as the weeks have gone by, I've become increasingly engaged with the material. For one, I've been learning more about historical events in our history that I either had no idea about (the Centenniel), or others that I only had little knowledge on (Custer's Last Stand). The focus on the nuts and bolts of the culture, the collective consciousness -- things like music, popular novels, and festivals -- really puts history in a framework that reveals more about our past beyond the facts and numbers we were taught in American History classes in high school.

Another thing I've enjoyed are moments in lectures when the professor ties in something historical to something current, like echos of Lincoln in Obama's inaugral speech. Because of that sense of interconnectedness, and the interaction we've had with these concrete cultural artifacts (the "nuts and bolts"), it becomes easier to trace trends in ideologies and tastes throughout time.

My favorite lecture was probably the one on "Little Women," even though it was so short, I felt a real authenticity and insight in the analysis. I hadn't realized how much technological change could contribute to shifts in gender politics until then. I was also fascinated by Confederates in the Attic, as I had no idea that the practicioners of Civil War re-enactments were that "hardcore."